Date Walnut Tart

This tart could not be easier or more delicious! Cinnamon spiced digestive biscuit crust, layered with soft dates, walnuts and caramelized condensed milk. Heavenly!

If you’re looking for a quick and easy dessert that tastes dynamite, stirs up ooohs and aaahs and turns you into everyone’s hero…you’re looking at it right here!

This is the dessert you’ll want to make when you’re asked to bring something, but would rather be glued to the couch than lift a finger. You’re gonna need to move a few fingers here though, but compared to getting a finger workout by wrapping 160 mini samosas, this one is like getting a hand massage.

You know I’m not one to sacrifice taste for effort…I mean remember this one? So trust me when I tell you that even though the work is minimal here, the taste is MEGA!

I have no qualms about making multi-step, complicated recipes as long as the results are worth it, but let’s be real…sometimes, ok A LOT of times, I’m lazy. And tired. And a total couch potato. Which is when recipes like these are heaven-sent.

Staying true to the whole Ramadan Desserts’ theme that’s been taking over the blog for the last 10 days, this tart could not be a more perfect choice. HELLO DATES!

Y’all probably know that dates are a huge part of our Middle Eastern food culture. You know…camals are our means of transportation, tents and pyramids are what live in and dates are all we eat right?!

Hahahaaaaa😜 I just had to….Sorry. But I swear we get asked these questions when we travel. Which is actually quite fun, because then its easy to convince them that I’m the Princess of Egypt :)))

Anywhooooo…where were we? Oh dates!

Middle Easterners love their dates year-round, but they tend to be more consumed during the month of Ramadan. Since we go long hours without food while fasting, dates serve as that much needed high voltage power source that charges our batteries.

Typically, they are the first thing we put in our mouths the moment we break our fast, but they are also thoroughly enjoyed throughout the night with small cups of Arabic coffee (that yellowish drink in the photos).

So in spirit of the Month of Dates, I bring you A Date Tart!

A crunchy cinnamon spiced digestive biscuit crust cradles oodles of soft, sweet dates and crackly walnuts. The whole thing is taken up a few notches with a sea of condensed milk that stays nice and gooey on the inside, but turns chewy and caramelized on the outside. It’s just amazing really.

Rich? Oh yeah! Slim slices will go a long way.

Sweet? I’d be lying if I said otherwise. But somehow the walnuts cut through the sweetness and balances everything out.

Good? Unbelievably so.

I’ve been enjoying this delicious tart for many years at my dear sister-in-law’s mom’s house. She’s famous for it and for a good reason. Her guests always go nuts for it and polish it off in no time. I recently just asked her for the recipe so I could share it with you, and she was kind enough to pour it all out. The only problem is that she never measures anything 😩 So the recipe went something like this:

Mix some digestive crackers crumbs with melted butter then press in pan, top with soft dates, then walnuts, then condensed milk, bake and enjoy.

?????!!!!!!!

Soooooooooo…after risking Auntie Hala liking me a little less for bombarding her with questions and after meticulously getting down the recipe to measurable amounts, I’m finally ready to pass it on to you.

So here goes.

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You’re going to mix together digestive biscuit crumbs with a little sugar and a pinch of salt. I deviated from the original recipe a little by adding cinnamon, because I love the combination of cinnamon and dates together and it worked wonders. You’re then going to combine that with melted butter and press it tightly in a tart pan. Auntie Hala uses a cheesecake pan aka springform pan and she doesn’t prebake the crust. I decided to bake the crust before adding the filling, because I found that it makes for a crunchier, more sturdy crust. You could skip it if you’re that lazy but c’mon!

Once the crust has cooled down a bit, you’re going to arrange the dates all around. To be honest, and I can’t believe I’m saying that, but you don’t really need to measure out the dates here. You just need to put enough to cover the bottom of the crust.

Then walnuts go in. Again, you could eyeball the amount 🙊

Then pour that entire can of sweetened condensed milk all over that whole shebang!

Like soooooo….

Then bake until the condensed milk gets all bubbly and caramelized and your house smells like everything good in the world. About 25 minutes.

Make sure to let it cool slightly before getting the tart out of the pan. The blister in my wrist begs you to wait a little. And then you could cut it into slices…

Pour a cup of Arabic coffee and enjoy. Or to be more accurate…fuel up!

Yield: 1 (9 inch/ 23cm or 10 inch/ 26cm)

Date Walnut Tart

This tart could not be easier or more delicious! Cinnamon spiced digestive biscuit crust, layered with soft dates, walnuts and caramelized condensed milk. Heavenly!

For the Filling:

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat the oven to 180C/ 350F.

Using a food processor or blender, grind the digestive biscuits into fine crumbs. Alternatively, you could crush them in a zipper lock bag with a rolling pin..

Add in the sugar, salt and cinnamon (if using) and pulse together until well combined.

Pour in the melted butter and process until everything is well blended and the butter is evenly distributed.

Transfer the mixture to a 9 or 10-inch tart or springform pan with a removable bottom. Press the mixture tightly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Use the bottom of a flat measuring cup to compress the crust as tightly as possible.

Bake the crust until it starts to set and smells fragrant; about 8 minutes. Allow the crust to cool until you halve and pit the dates. The longer you leave the crust to cool, the crunchier the end result will be.

Turn up the oven temperature to 200C/ 392F.

Arrange the date halves (cut side down) in a single layer, all around the crust. Squeeze in as much dates on there as you can. You might find that you'll need more or less dates than the amount called for. You just need enough to cover the bottom of the crust.

Top the dates with the walnut halves in a single layer. Again, a little over or a little less than the mentioned amount is fine.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk all over the date/walnut filling.

Bake the tart until the sweetened condensed milk bubbles and the surface caramelizes and turns golden in color; 25 to 30 minutes. If you feel that the walnuts are getting too dark before the condensed milk has had a chance to caramelize, lightly tent the tart with foil to avoid burning the walnuts. Remove the foil towards the end of baking, so the condensed milk can develop a nice color. Some areas will turn brown, while others will remain off-white, but the overall color should be golden brown.

Allow the tart to cool slightly, then remove the rim of the pan from the tart and place on a serving platter. Best served warm, but is also great at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

17 sheets (250g) of graham crackers may be substituted for the digestive biscuits.

Recipe adapted from my brother's mother-in-law, Auntie Hala.

Measurements Note: All recipes of this site have been developed using weight measurements. Although US volume measurements have been included for your convenience, it is highly encouraged that you weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale to get the best possible results. Due to the sensitive nature of baking, kitchen scales are proven to yield more accurate and consistent results than measuring cups. Enjoy!

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Hi Sandra:) I never tried that so can’t say for sure, but I think it stands a good chance of working. Just not that clarified butter has a higher fat content than butter which may lead to a slightly greasier crust.

Salaam Adam! I don’t think there’ll be any problems with refrigerating it overnight, although I’d recommend reheating it in the oven just until warm right before serving. Another option (and this is what I’d do actually) is to make the crust tonight, pit & slice the dates & store them in an airtight container so they don’t dry out, then tomorrow, I’d just arrange the dates, pour the condensed & bake.
Best of luck 🙂

I’ve had my eye on this recipe ever since you published it and today I FINALLY, made it. I made mini ones since I didn’t have a tart pan and frankly I was too impatient and miniature versions are not only cuter and weigh lighter on your conscience but also quicker to make! And let me tell you based on how they taste that they can’t be made quickly enough. This is without a doubt, the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. I love how the condensed milk gets all bubbly and caramelised and how crunchy but still soft the base is and it all works together in perfect harmony to create a taste unrivalled my anything else my tongue has touched. I only made like 2 tarts and my family have been in agony because they’ve only had a tiny taste and are craving more (it’s kinda fun to watch haha) and I’ll be making the proper, big version for Eid, Inshallab and I’ll definitely attach a picture next time. Also I’m dying at how long this comment is, it’s more like an essay but I can’t help it; I get sentimental when I eat something this good. 😍🤩🤤

Hahaaaaa Aiman, your comments are always the best! I too find it really hard to sum up my words when it comes to talking about food. Yay! I’m really happy you liked this recipe…and miniature? Cuuuuuuuute! Get go wrong with anything too small; they’re always the hardest to resist.

It is now a Ramadan tradition for me to make these heavenly tarts. I don’t know if it’s because it’s winter in Australia where I live or if it’s just Auntie Hala’s and your magic, or the fact that fasting all day gives you a newfound appreciation for food, but there’s something about the warmth and decadence of this tart that not even the the fudgiest chocolate brownies can beat in my opinion 😂

Oh my goodness your photo made me wanna make it so bad! I haven’t made it in over a year and your comment just reminded me of how much I love it. I’m so happy you feel the same way too! Thank you so much for this sweet comment.

I just had this last month at my aunt’s place and it tasted just amazing. However I couldn’t get the exact recipe from her due to her lack of tracking measurements.
And then I came across your recipe here. Thank you so much … Buckling up to make it now!!! Love.

Hey Tasbih! hey the chef EVER! :))
I wanna tell you that I love you and adore your recipes wallah..loved your nutella tart ,zalabya ,cream filled kunafa, cone-afa-ice cream and the best oriental dessert ever(BASBOUSA)..I want to make this recipe a little differently..instead of your ground cookies pie crust I just wanna make cinnamon roll pie crust..it’s made of a regular buttery&flaky pie crust then filled with a cinnamon-ey buttery filling..but I don’t know if I need to blind bake it first then fill it and bake as mentioned above or fill it and bake it without the previous blind baking..so please help me!!

Hi Nada! Thank you so much for your kind words and I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying all the recipes you’ve been trying from the blog. That’s a delicious sounding idea! YUM! It’s really hard to tell without trying it out, but I feel like it would work better if you blind-bake the crust first since it’s completely raw. My guess would be that the cinnamon roll crust when topped with all those dates, walnuts and condensed milk, won’t bake all the way through by the time the topping finishes browning, which is why I think that blind-baking is the way to go. I could be wrong though. Honestly, the only way to know is to try and hope for the best lol! I hope it works perfectly for you.

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